Vale Tim Thompson C6 (1946-2007)

Tim
was born in Adelaide on 16 March 1946, one of a family of 9
children. He grew up in Adelaide, married there, raised his family
there and always called it home. He was indeed a South Australian in
all ways and a passionate one at that.

He
took up racewalking while in his teens and threw himself
wholeheartedly into his new found athletic endeavour. When the
Australian Centurions were formed in 1971, SA based founder Len
Matthews had his ideal candidate firmly targeted –Jack Webber.
Jack
had been for many years the South Australian walking champion over
many distances and had attempted some longer walks. At 57 years of
age, Jack was ready to take on a much greater challenge.

The first race date for the modern era
was set – August 20-21 1971,
with the venue being the Adelaide Harriers Track, a cinders track set
in parkland just south of the main Adelaide city area. The rest is
history – Jack completed the walk in 22:44:53 without any major
difficulties and became the first Australian Centurion under the new
governing body. The only other starter was Tim who reached a distance
of 47.75 miles before retiring.

Tim was determined to add his name to
the ranks of the newly founded
Centurions and his opportunity came the next year in Melbourne.
Stewart Cooper summed it up nicely as follows

There are two specific memories
that remain with me, and that I treasure. The first is of a night
(perhaps it was early morning) in November 1972, exactly a year after
I had qualified for membership of the newly-formed Australian
Centurions. This exclusive club has but a single entry requirement
– to join, you must walk 100 miles in less than 24 hours. The year I
did it, I was one of three such lunatics to succeed, the others being
Jimmy Gleeson and Clarrie Jack. Jim was the particular hero of the
event, going beyond 100 miles to set an Australian 24-hour record
that stands to this day. A year later Jim was back at the Preston
track to try again. I was at a party that night and missed much of
the early action, but got to the track a little after midnight to
lend my support to Jim.

As the night wore on into morning
it became clear that Jim was struggling a bit and would be little
likely to improve on his record. He did, however, look in better
shape than the other guy on the track – someone I hadn’t
seen
before. He moved at an agonised shamble and was clearly in need of
all the support he could get. Clarrie was there beside him and I
joined them, exchanging idle banter and offering tips from my own
experience from the previous year. The wannabe Centurion, though
suffering and slowing progressively, was alert enough to express both
appreciation and admiration: ‘I wish I could get one of those
badges like you got, Stewie’, to which I replied something like
‘You will, mate – and you’ll do it now.’ And
that was the
beginning of my friendship with Tim Thompson of South Australia –
one that lasted for nearly 35 years.

Tim passed the 100 mile peg that
day with a meagre 11 minutes and 52 second to spare, sobbing as he
collapsed: ‘I never thought I’d make it!’ before
being bundled
into an ambulance with his feet in a state that probably left the
ambos wishing they’d gone into merchant banking instead. The
Centurions’ honour board bears fifty-three names now, yet I have
no
hesitation in saying that no place on that board was harder-earned
than Tim’s, nor more dearly prized. Tim achieved more than
Centurion membership that day – he earned the admiration and
respect of the strong Victorian race walking community for what all
knew was a display of sheer guts and determination, of resolute mind
over blistered, tortured matter.

The second memory is from five
years later. I’d already met Beverly, of course, but it
wasn’t
until 1977 that I got to know her. That year the National Racewalking
Championships were held in Adelaide, and it was the scene of one of
Tim’s proudest achievements – a fourth place in the 50km
title
race behind two internationals, both Victorians. I wasn’t one of
them, sadly – I finished a distant eighth in that race –
but I
will always remember Tim hiring a minibus the next day and taking the
Victorian squad on a tour of the Adelaide Hills with his young family
– in particular, with four-year old Tania perched on my lap (no
compulsory seat belts in buses then). It was a magical day, one that
cemented our friendship. It also demonstrated Tim’s boundless
hospitality and generosity, and again reinforced the high regard in
which he was held east of Bordertown..

Tim's
racewalking continued to improve throughout the 1970's and amongst
his best performances were the above mentioned 4th place
in the 1975 Australian 50 km championship in Adelaide and a win in
the 1976 City of Mordialloc Cup 50 mile event in Melbourne (with a
very impressive time of 8:48:06). He eventually reduced his 20 km
time down to a fraction over 100 minutes and always felt that
breaking 'the hundred' was one of his few unfulfilled ambitions in
walking. He was a prodigious racer, contesting every South Australian
championship and frequently travelling interstate to contest the
Australian and Federation championships. He was just as prodigious in
his training feats, regularly clocking in excess of 100 miles and
occasionally well in excess of that figure.

In 1976 Tim and Bev purchased a
property in Longwood in the Adelaide
Hills and they laboured hard over the next two years building their
family home, only to see it totally destroyed in the 1980 Ash
Wednesday bush fires. It was a devastating loss but they took comfort
in the fact that their children had been kept safe while attending
schools elsewhere in the hills. Tim worked extra shifts at work in an
effort to earn more wages and a new house was rebuilt on the property
a few years later.

In December 1994, Tim suffered a
stroke, which lead to the discovery of
a brain tumour in early 1995. After a successful operation, his
recovery was slow – but he was determined to return to his
beloved walking and to his voluntary duties with the St. John Ambulance
as
soon as possible. He continued to work with the Commonwealth Bank
until retirement in 1997 after 33 years of service.

Tim loved travelling and he had been
overseas in 1991 and walked in four
different countries. He often spoke of his walk in Ireland, his first
walk in Finland and especially of his walk in the Nijmegen Four Day
event in Holland. In 2000 Tim and Bev bought a property on the
Sunshine Coast in Queensland and from then on, their life rotated
between Adelaide and Queensland and the 4wd and caravan were in
almost continuous use. Tim would plan his trips to coincide with the
various Masters Championships and he was a regular competitor in
these walking championships.

Tim's health started on a downhill
slide in his final couple of years. At
first the illness was just thought to be a virus but eventually tests
showed a virulent brain tumour. With support from his wife Bev and
his family, he bravely battled against the debilitating effects but
it was the final battle that he could not win. In the early hours of
Tuesday 1 May 2007, he finally passed on, with his family present. He
was only 61 years old.

Knowing how sick he was, we were
surprised to see him and Bev turn up as
spectators and supporters at the Coburg 24 Hour Carnival only 2 weeks
before. It was Tim's last big effort and gave us all a chance for one
final meeting. It was obvious then that Tim was weakening quickly but
it was still a shock to get the final phone call from Stu Cooper. I
had spoken to Bev only days before and Tim was scheduled for an
operation in early May to try to relieve the effects of the tumour.

Tim will live forever in our club
memory as Centurion Number 6. We will
cherish our memories of Tim, his amazing memory for all things
athletic and his warm and welcoming personal style.

The final word is from Stuart Cooper

Walking was, of course, never far from our conversations, and Tim’s
recall of past races –
especially, but not only, the ones he did well in – was beyond
phenomenal. Never one to be content only with memories, long after
the motor accident and major surgery had consigned his best walking
years to the past, he was still at it, venturing to all parts of
Australia to take part in Masters’ events, even when he could no
longer train. Tim walked because he loved it, because he could do it
and was grateful that he could. Lacking the fast-twitch muscle fibre
that is often mistaken for talent, he made up for this with a
near-unfathomable capacity for hard work. Few walkers impressed as
much with their sheer endeavour, nor were so appreciative of what
they were able to achieve, however it stacked up against that of
their peers. Tim Thompson was a model ambassador of race walking, of
his state, of the fraternity of sportsmen. With only days left to
him, it was still so precious for him to be able to visit us once
more at Coburg for the 24-hour walk.

There is a lesson there. When things start to seem pointless, when
another hamstring goes bung,
when the urge to complain and give up starts to take hold, the vision
of that green and gold tracksuit with its glistening Centurion No 6
badge and the wicked, knowing grin of its wearer will continue to
inspire this Victorian for years to come.

Tim in action in a 50 km Australian
Championship at Fishermans Bend in Melbourne in the 1980's

To Bev and the family, we offer our deepest condolences. Tim will live forever in our club memory as Centurion Number 6. We will cherish our memories of Tim, his prodigious memory for all things athletic and his warm and welcoming personal style.